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28 June 2013

Dear Shoulders: I guess my sun burn from Raging Waters was a little worse than I thought because you are peeling! Dear Working Out: Who needs you? CPR totally counts as cardio because I'm always so sore the next day. Dear Hair: You are getting so long! Not that anybody can tell, because the curls make you look five inches shorter than you are.

Dear Miley: I kind of like you. I mean, I don't want to, but your new song is so catchy and I'm getting used to your hair. Dear Seraphino Arythmabonbon: The other day my friend told me she used to date you, and I'm still cracking up over your ridiculous name. Dear Prancercise: I had no idea there was a name for that thing I do when I'm home alone.

5 MORE THINGS:

One: I can feel double dates coming up in my future!

Two: I really want to run in the Bubble Run again!

Three: I haven't seen any trailers for the movie Purge, but my friend was telling me about it and it sounds sooo interesting!

Five: Little ballerinas are one of my FAVORITE THINGS EVER. I get to go watch some of my favorite little girls in their recital tomorrow! Although I guess they're not so little anymore...because half of them are taller than me.

27 June 2013

Disclaimer: last night I wrote this post, and finally worked up the courage to click "publish" at 2am. First thing this morning I reverted it back to a draft. I didn't want to hurt anyone whose wounds are still fresh from having recently lost a loved one, or seem like I'm pushing my beliefs on people. Religion and death are pretty touchy subjects, but this blog is my personal forum for thoughts both shallow and deep, and I think it would defeat the purpose of having a blog if I didn't share the story.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I have to tell about the positive experience I had today

An hour and ten minutes into my shift today, I heard a code blue called...on my floor! That hasn't happened since I switched hospitals. Everyone swarmed into the room of the patient in cardiac arrest, but all of my fellow nurse techs were hesitant to enter...I think they have this mind block where they think they can't help because they aren't doctors or registered nurses. However, I know full well that the person in the bed NEEDS people who aren't doctors or nurses to do the "little stuff", so other people can take care of the "big stuff". Just about anyone can do chest compressions, but it is very hard work, so there has to be plenty of substitutes. I walk right on in to the chaos, and I tell my coworker "Hey, let me know when you get tired" and I just wait behind her while she finishes compressions. When it was my turn, I was surprised to find that it seemed much easier than the last time I did compressions. The heart monitor is showing that my compressions are steady, deep enough, etc. Then I look into the patient's face. Nothing. Thirteen hours ago, this patient came up to the floor from the ER and I was assuring them that I was almost done while another coworker and I tried to make them comfortable for the night. Now, that same face was just empty. I stopped my compressions for a moment while they shocked the patient, and waited to see if the heart kicked in. It didn't. Another coworker took over compressions for me, but no the other substitutes were needed. This patient was gone.

THOUGHTS:

I believe that people go to a better place when they leave this life. I really truly believe that. Unfortunately, that doesn't make the pain of losing someone any better. I think this is a form of selfish grief, because I'm not sad for the person who is gone, I'm sad for me. Now I have to keep on going without them, and I won't be able to see this person that I love so dearly for a very long time. When this particular patient died, however, I was relieved! During compressions I felt nothing, then afterward I felt relief. Shouldn't mourning be in here somewhere? I started to feel guilty that I wasn't more sad, but then I thought about it. I came to the conclusion that dying is a happy thing when you are in crippling pain, and your body has tried to quit twice in the last month only to be resuscitated back into the harsh reality where you can't feed or clean yourself. Since I had no personal emotional connection to this person, I guess I was able to see that more clearly, and all I felt was relief. If I ever see that person in the next life, I think we'll both smile at each other and I'll say "Hey, no hard feelings about that bruise you gave me on the palm of my hand. I'm glad to see you're not suffering anymore."

26 June 2013

Today is the last day of the "From one year to beyond" link up, and the topic is first anniversaries. Mattie and I are still a few months away from ours, buuut I decided to back-track to the first week (which I missed) about happy moments during your first year.

It's no surprise that I'm going to start with our wedding day.

It was so beautiful, and went so smoothly, I couldn't have asked for more.

The first time we were alone together as a married couple was a pretty epic moment.

No more noise, no more entertaining, just us...the way it will be form now until forever.

Another favorite day of our marriage was when my car broke down, and when I called Matt about it he said "Ugh. Leave the car there, we're going to go buy a new one right now!"

First ride in our new car.

I LOVED dressing up with him in matching costumes for the first time.

﻿

But honestly, I know this is about to make me sound lame, but my favorite thing to do with him is nothing! We work a lot and when we manage to get a day off together its the best feeling to have a lazy day watching movies, eating food, and cuddling...and putting him to sleep with my back massage. Hahaha

23 June 2013

I tagged along with my family (minus the mama) on a collective Joshua's birthday/fathers day outing to Raging Waters, and I seriously think it was the best day I've ever had at an amusement park. That's saying something - coming from the girl who chose amusements parks over birthday parties for 80% of her life.

Me, Daddy, Joshua, Cole, Jacob.

(Joshua was allowed to bring one friend and he chose our cousin, Cole)

We rode every ride we wanted to multiple times, ate a delicious lunch, and still had enough time for me to walk around taking pictures of everything. That's my idea of a perfect day.

﻿My sweet brother Jacob will always be there make sure that nobody has to float around in the lazy river alone. We discovered that sometimes it's better to go tubeless and just walk or swim till your hearts content.

Trust me...this one is higher and steeper than it seems.

Especially from the top looking down.﻿

There are few sounds more pleasing to my ears than that of a battle cry bursting from the lungs of one actively falling down the drop or free fall of a ride. That's the sound of someone alive and loving it. My daddy has one of the most perfect battle cries imaginable, while I, on the other hand, am more of a hold your breath and plug your nose type of person.

How To Get The Ladies' Attention, by Joshua

Step One:

Step Two:﻿

Step Three:

Step Four:

Holy cow am I sore today. Waterslides beat you up in a way that rollercoasters just can't.

21 June 2013

I have always wanted to go on The Newlywed Game! I used to watch it as a little kid and loved to imagine how in-synch my future husband and I would be if we were ever on the show. These days, the questions have gotten too risqué for me, but I thought it would be fun to try a blog version...

Goooooood afternoon everybody, and welcome to: THE NEWLYWED GAME! Our first (and only) couple here on the blog today is Matthew and Laynah from southern California. They pretended to be married on their very first date, and now here they are - 8 months into their marriage! (I know...surprisingly, I've never been to game-show-host school...it just comes natural).

Ladies first.

I am going to answer these five questions the way I think Matthew would answer them (he isn't in the room right now). Then, I will hide my answers from him as I ask him the same questions to see how we match up. 5 points for every matched answer.

1. Who caught the bouquet at your wedding?

Laynah:Emma.

Matt: I don't know. That's my answer. I'm not going to guess.

2. If you and your husband were to go get a new dog, what dog would he want to get?

Laynah:Um, he's more of a fish guy. I'll say Rottweiler? Just because I can see him with one.

Matt: I don't know, but it has to be a sexy dog.

3. What is the strangest gift your spouse has ever bought for you?

Laynah: The sander?

Matt: Probably a cactus garden.

4. If you won the instant jackpot lotto for $500, what would your spouse do with it?

Matt: Starburst. This is perfect because it was kind of fruity anyways from the gelato. She tasted like mango.

FIRST ROUND: 5 whole points

Now it's Matthew's turn to answer the questions!

﻿

1. When your wife says, 'Honey, they're playing our song' what song are they playing?

Matt: Wanted, by Hunter Hayes

Laynah: Hunter Hayes, Wanted.

2. Complete this sentence: I knew I had found the love of my life when she _______________.

Matt: When she agreed to be my fake wife. It was like "Oh my Lanta you are my woman."

Laynah: Wasn't scared for my life every time he drives.

3. A meteor is headed for your house. You have saved your family, pets, and the family photos.

You have time to save one more item. What will you save?

Matt: Eff that, I'd never go back for family photos! We'll just take more! I would save nothing.

Laynah: He would save important documents before pictures.

4. What gift that your spouse gave you came as the biggest surprise?

Matt: I don't know, I've never really been surprised by anything.

Laynah: The fish tank!

5. What would your spouse say was the last thing the two of you argued about?

Matt: Whether or not my wife surprised me with a fish tank. Hahaha

Laynah: He didn't like what I was wearing when we were going to dinner (I thought we were just going to a drive thru).

FINAL ROUND: 5TOTAL: 10 out of 100

Well...that was not the result I expected.Good thing I tried this out on the blog before trying to win a second honeymoon on a game show for our in-depth knowledge of each other, right?! Oh, and by the way, he was TOTALLY surprised by the freaking fish tank I got him. For Christmas I put an envelope under the tree that had a scavenger hunt clue inside. He was then led on a scavenger hunt all around the house until he finally dug his fish tank out from under our blankets in the linen closet. For the record, he cried.

19 June 2013

Todays marriage link-up is about unexpected moments and growing as a couple. Matthew and I hit the ground running with our "unexpected moments" because right when we got engaged it seemed like it was one thing after another. At first, Matthew had a bangin' job and we tried buying a house. Everything was so perfect. We looked around for a little while, decided on the one we wanted, and were in the process when Matthew got laid off. That was my first reality check that things don't always go your way just because you found somebody to love for the rest of your life.

As for things we have learned...I can't say if Matthew has learned anything from me, but I have learned a lot from him! He taught me how to communicate...something I never bothered trying to learn with any other boyfriend. He taught me that it's not okay to just assume he knows I'm sorry without saying it. Probably most importantly, he taught me how to fight nice. I was not a very nice fighter when we got married. My goal when we argued was to make him as upset as I was, and usually it worked. Then I matured a little bit, and now the goal if we ever argue (much more rare) is to explain why I'm upset and really just to get on the same page as him. This has made all the difference in the world.

One other major thing we had to learn early on was paying attention to how our actions are making the other one feel. I know I love Matthew, but if all I do is whine at him, then he probably isn't feeling that love. It's very important to match your actions with how you feel for that person. We're gonna need this marriage to last, so we really try to follow through with these things we have learned and really make our marriage a priority.

Of course, we have years and years and YEARS of learning ahead of us still, but I think these are the basics that were most valuable for us early on. All of the pictures in this post are when we were still right in the middle of learning all of these things...Marriage 101 if you will.

18 June 2013

Being on a nursing schedule is super weird sometimes (btw I'm a nurse tech, not an RN). Thursday night everyone starts getting excited for their weekend at the same time you're getting ready for your "Monday" ...then you work all weekend and look forward to the real Monday, which is actually your weekend. You with me?

Yesterday, I kicked off my weekend by sleeping in. It was glorious.

Then I planned on doing absolutely nothing ALL DAY LONG, but my mom called and asked if Josh could hang out with me while she took my other brother to an appointment. We ran around the mall and ate and talked, and it basically just felt like hanging out with a younger version of myself for a few hours. What a mind trip. It's so weird to look at someone and see so much of you in them! I tried telling Matthew that he has my hands, and my nose, and my - but Matthew interrupted me and says "No...those are your MOMS hands and nose. Don't be weird." But I'm like "But that's MY personality." Hahaha.

After that, my other brother got out of his appointment and I spent the rest of the day kicking it at my apartment with all three of them. My mom made the mistake of leaving her iPhone with me during the movie, and it was returned to her with a little something to remember me by:

(Oh yeah, and I was sitting on the table, in case you're wondering)

You guys - I miss having a smart phone. I guess you could say I went through smart phone relapse. When I switched from having a smart phone to a dumb phone (in order to save money on data plans) it was weird at first but then I just forgot what I was missing and moved on.

A few swipes through instagram, and I have now been reminded of my desire for an iPhone with a gaudy blingin' case:

Anyways, it was just a great day. I mean, my mom even did my dishes when I went to go pick up some groceries. Oh, and Matthew took me to go get frosty waffle cones after dinner. Those are amazing. Maybe today I'll catch up on that "doing nothing" I promised myself yesterday.﻿

15 June 2013

I love that he is basically just a big kid because he still plays with transformers, remote control airplanes, and video games. I love that he taught me how to love rollercoasters in my efforts to try to look cool and brave in front of him. I love that he worked on a broken foot for a long period of time while my mom was in nursing school because he would do anything for his family. I love that when he was finally in recovery he took me to my first concert and stood there in that swarming crowd on his crutches, making sure nobody would push me over. I love that he struck fear into the heart of every boy I ever dated. I love that he always leaves big tips for the good waiters/waitresses. I love that he knows ever answer to every game show question ever. I love that he gave me a taste for 80's and 90's rock bands. I love that for some reason, all the babies in the family gravitate towards the uncle with the soft heart and the calloused hands. I love that, in the summer, he drives the boat for hours to make sure everyone else happy, even though driving the boat gets really old after a while when there's nobody else skilled enough to let you have a turn in the water.

Happy Fathers day to him, and to every other man in my life that has made me who I am today.